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REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 20, 2023--

Four astronauts will have to wait an extra day to get to space

President Joe Biden will hold a call with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy about the debt-ceiling and budget negotiations

On a live stream with Andrew Tate, Adin Ross tried to persuade the controversial figure that he actually shaved his head as promised

European shares opened lower on Thursday on fears of continued monetary policy tightening, with London stocks falling on

August 2016 was, at the time, the planet's hottest month on record. In Freehold, New Jersey, where Jim Klenk was driving his usual route for UPS, midday temperatures were hitting highs in the 80s and 90s.

Hurricane Lee was showing signs Thursday morning that it would rapidly intensify again, days before a precarious and uncertain northward track that much of the US East Coast will have to watch closely.

As their soon-to-be former teammates formed a guard of honour on Saturday, there were four presentations in all, two for men in tracksuits, two for those who have distinguished themselves in Liverpool shirts over the last eight years and who wore them at Anfield for a final time. The scorer Roberto Firmino and James Milner, the thirty-somethings who are veterans of over 300 Liverpool appearances apiece, had bowed out as influential substitutes. For the younger duo of Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, a watching brief felt sadly fitting. It is how they have spent much of their Liverpool careers: sometimes watching on from the bench, often from the stands. Neither has reached 150 appearances in all competitions, even including outings as a substitute. Keita has started 49 league games since his £52m move, or 26 per cent of those in his five years at Anfield, Oxlade-Chamberlain 46 in six, which is just 21 per cent. This season, the Englishman has played 335 Premier League minutes – just 10 per cent of Liverpool’s – and the Guinean 294, or 8.9 per cent. They have had spells as ever-presents on injury bulletins. They were both omitted from Liverpool’s Champions League squad in the autumn, even if the medical team’s pessimism about Oxlade-Chamberlain proved excessive, eventually rendering him fit but ineligible. “Four legends,” Jurgen Klopp had said, but it felt a generous description. Firmino qualifies; so, too, Milner, an unglamorous and often uncelebrated figure, belatedly got his own banner in the Kop. “Ribena for my men – we ride at dawn,” it read, a fine salute to a teetotaller defined by his physical power, willing spirit and leadership qualities. Liverpool, Klopp feels, will miss his mentality. “He sets a high, high bar,” said his manager. But there were heartfelt tributes and a sense of what might have been. The departing quartet fall into two categories: a pair who realised their potential and a duo who did not. It is not entirely their fault. Oxlade-Chamberlain’s Anfield career can be divided into two, though certainly not at the half-way point. He was electric for three months before suffering a cruciate ligament injury against Roma in the 2018 Champions League semi-finals, the dynamic, explosive attacking central midfielder he had always wanted to be. Though he had a fine 2019-20 season, he never recaptured that zest. Keita’s terrific debut against West Ham in 2018 proved a false dawn. He was sporadically excellent thereafter – by and large, he had an impressive 2021-22 season – but Klopp’s assessment last year that of his first 100 games, 80 of them were “really good” was not shared by many supporters. For some, Keita’s time on Merseyside was summed up by his shot in last season’s Champions League final: skied, it was a missed opportunity. For others, it may be epitomised by the Twitter thread of the five strangest reasons for his frequent absences, from getting hurt walking, to being injured on a plane, to a military coup. There was a farcical element but Liverpool could count the cost of two moves that went wrong. They have never had the margin for error that the Manchester clubs possess in the transfer market. For years, they got nearly all of their major signings correct, sometimes spectacularly. But Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain cost a combined £87m and will leave on free transfers. Each is in his twenties and, while it was not stated explicitly, was not offered a new deal. Klopp is a master of eloquent compliments, but Liverpool gave up on both. For years, camouflaged by the excellence of their elders, it mattered less than it might have done until, suddenly, it proved crucial. Six years after Liverpool agreed to sign both – they wanted Keita so much they waited a year for him to actually arrive – they were supposed to be the future of Liverpool’s midfield and the future arrived. Liverpool’s many midfielders this season fell into three categories: the thirty-somethings, the youngsters and the trio at their supposed peak, in their late twenties. But Fabinho has had an awful campaign and Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain were bit-part players, making a combined total of seven league starts, none before Boxing Day, none after February, none where they played 90 minutes, only two of which Liverpool won. Without them, it has been a season of makeshift midfields, of problems at the heart of the side. With Thiago Alcantara and Jordan Henderson ageing, perhaps the plan was for this to be the season of Naby Keita: instead it ends with him being released. Liverpool lost the generation game; the next group, whether Stefan Bajcetic, Harvey Elliott or Curtis Jones, all had periods that showed their promise but those who were supposed to represent the present either regressed or simply were not available. A consequence is that much of Liverpool’s summer budget will be devoted to midfielders; with a need to split it to get more than one – which may not have been necessary had Keita flourished and earned a new deal – they won’t get Jude Bellingham. Their outlay could stretch into nine figures; in a sense, they will be looking to regenerate, to shape Klopp’s second side. In another respect, they are seeking to replace Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain, to find players of the quality they were supposed to show more often. But whether their eventual arrivals are Mason Mount and Alexis Mac Allister or Ryan Gravenberch and Conor Gallagher, the first ability they need to demonstrate is one Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain have lacked too often: availability. And preferably for at least 50 games a season. Read More Liverpool will still attract top talent across ‘exciting’ and ‘intense’ summer, Virgil van Dijk believes Roberto Firmino ends glorious Liverpool career with imperfect goodbye Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool have not been good enough for top-four finish

Leicester are to be fined up to £880,000 after “colluding to restrict competition” alongside JD Sports in the sales of club clothing, including replica kit, according to the UK competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said the Sky Bet Championship side and JD Sports have admitted to anti-competitive behaviour, which include “price fixing conduct”. The parties broke competition law between 2018 and 2021 with arrangements which limited competition in the sale of clothing, the CMA said it has provisionally found. Leicester and its parent companies have agreed to pay a fine up to the watchdog’s maximum penalty of £880,000. JD Sports will avoid a fine after reporting the illegal activity. In August 2018, JD Sports said it would stop selling Leicester-branded clothing online for the 2018-19 season, and in January 2019, JD Sports agreed it would not “undercut” the club in terms of online sales for the following season by applying a delivery charge to all orders, the CMA said. It said JD Sports continued the agreement to sell all Leicester clothing with the charge until at least January 2021. Michael Grenfell, executive director of enforcement at the CMA, said: “Strong and unimpeded competition between retailers is essential to consumers’ ability to shop around for the best deals. “Football fans are well-known for their loyalty towards their teams. In this case we have provisionally found that Leicester City FC and JD Sports colluded to share out markets and fix prices with the result that fans may have ended up paying more than they would otherwise have done. “Both parties have now admitted their involvement, allowing us to bring the investigation to a swift conclusion. “The fine that Leicester City FC and its parent companies have agreed to pay sends a clear message to them and other businesses that anti-competitive collusion will not be tolerated.” In response, Leicester stressed that no current club directors or senior management were involved in the arrangements. “These arrangements related to a limited number of bulk orders by JD Sports, which were accepted by the club’s retail sales team over the relevant period,” the club added. “There was no intention on the part of the club to unlawfully restrict the resale of the goods supplied and no material financial advantage to be gained from doing so, given the limited amount of kit supplied to JD Sports. “However, the club accepts the CMA’s findings and has taken steps to strengthen its training and compliance measures to ensure the club’s retail operations fully comply with competition law.” JD Sports also highlighted that current or former directors or senior management of JD were involved in the offending conduct and that it signed a leniency agreement with the CMA last month. The company added: “JD has taken a number of steps to strengthen its competition compliance programme and the board reaffirms its commitment to making the necessary resource available, internal and external, to ensure that this is embedded into its daily operations.” It comes almost a year after JD Sports, rival Elite Sports and Rangers were handed fines over price fixing on replica kits. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Paris St Germain sack Christophe Galtier Wimbledon schedule further affected as rain prevents play on Wednesday morning Keira Walsh fears injury ‘every time I go on the pitch’ due to increased load